Isaiah Forty—Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye
In the first seventeen verses of Isaiah forty the one hundred and forty-four thousand are prophetically located at the end of three and a half days, where they had been lying dead in the streets, while the world rejoiced. All the prophets agree with each other and the prophetic events they present always align with the other prophets, for God is not the author of confusion.
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:32, 33.
The Comforter, who Jesus promised to send in His absence, was placed into the very first words, of the very first verse, of the twenty-six chapters that make up Isaiah’s final prophetic narrative. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” The rule of first mention emphasizes that the following twenty-six chapters is to be understood in reference to the perfect and final fulfillment of the coming of the Comforter.
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever. . .. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14:16, 26.
The Midnight Cry of the Millerite history is repeated in the history of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
“There is a world lying in wickedness, in deception and delusion, in the very shadow of death,—asleep, asleep. Who are feeling travail of soul to awaken them? What voice can reach them? My mind was carried to the future, when the signal will be given. ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’ But some will have delayed to obtain the oil for replenishing their lamps, and too late they will find that character, which is represented by the oil, is not transferable.” Review and Herald, February 11, 1896.
The question is asked, “what voice can” “awaken” those that are “asleep”? The “voice” that awakens them in Isaiah chapter forty, is the “voice” that “cries” in the “wilderness.”
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The “voice” of him that “crieth” in the wilderness. . .. Isaiah 40:2, 3.
The message of the Midnight Cry is also the message of the latter rain.
“You are getting the coming of the Lord too far off. I saw the latter rain was coming as [suddenly as] the midnight cry, and with ten times the power.” Spalding and Magan, 5.
One of the many symbols found in the Word of God that represents the latter rain message, is the symbol that is recognized by a doubling of words or phrases. The doubling of words, or phrases is a symbol of the Midnight Cry, or latter rain message in the last days. The symbolism of the doubling of “comfort ye,” places the opening of Isaiah chapter forty in the tarrying time, when the message represented as the Midnight Cry of the parable of the ten virgins is to be recognized and then proclaimed. At that time, Christ sends the Comforter to awaken the sleeping virgins, who are prophetically represented as sleeping, and in some prophetic passages as sleeping, the sleep of death. The first verse of Isaiah forty, is prophetically located three and a half symbolic days ‘after’ the disappointment of July 18, 2020, for that is when the Comforter is sent to awaken those that are asleep. Three and a half days is a symbol of a wilderness, and there is where the “voice” begins to “cry.”
Revelation eleven, Ezekiel thirty-seven, Matthew twenty-five, the history of the Millerites (along with the same waymarks of Millerite history that occur in every reform movement), combine to identify a ‘specific process’ of awakening the sleeping virgins. The process starts with the virgins going to sleep at the disappointment. The period of the tarrying time that began at the disappointment is ultimately recognized as the tarrying time. The last portion of the tarrying time is the development of the message of the Midnight Cry. When the message is established, it is then proclaimed until it reaches its climax, the judgment.
The messenger represented as the “voice” in Isaiah, asked what the message was that was to be to be proclaimed. He was told in symbolic language to present the message of Islam. The prophetic message of Islam cannot be separated from the soon coming Sunday law, for Islam is a trumpet power, and the seven trumpets of Revelation represent God’s judgment upon the powers who pass Sunday laws. Those powers were pagan Rome in 321, a symbol of the dragon; papal Rome in 538, a symbol of the beast; and the soon coming Sunday law in the United States, a symbol of the false prophet.
In connection with the identification of what the message that the “voice” who had been crying in the wilderness was to proclaim, was the promise that God’s word never fails. The ‘promise and assurance’ that God’s word never fails, is located in the identical prophetic setting that in Habakkuk chapter two, and verse three, is expressed as “at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” The message of Islam will never fail, it will surely come. The last verse of Isaiah chapter forty, addresses those that wait for the vision in Habakkuk.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31.
The ‘hidden history’ of the seven thunders, that is now being unsealed, identifies three waymarks that begin and end with a disappointment. In that symbolic history, there are three waymarks, separated by two periods of time. A disappointment begins the tarrying time. The tarrying time leads to the corrected message and prediction of the Midnight Cry. The message of the Midnight Cry begins a period of proclaiming the message of the Midnight Cry, that leads to a second disappointment, that is represented as judgment. Those three steps, separated by two periods of time, represent the Alpha and Omega, as created in the Hebrew word “truth.”
In Ezekiel thirty-seven, Ezekiel also represents the “voice” of Isaiah forty. The voice in Isaiah forty asks, “What shall I cry?” The “voice” in Ezekiel thirty-seven, verse seven, then “prophesied as” he “was commanded.”
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Ezekiel 37:7, 8.
Ezekiel’s first prophecy brought the bones and flesh together, but they were not yet alive. “So,” Ezekiel “prophesied as he” was “commanded” a second time. The second prophecy brought the bodies to life. The two prophecies are typified by the creation of Adam.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7.
The two-step process of bringing the dead dry bones to life is first mentioned in the creation of Adam, thus emphasizing that God’s prophetic word is also His creative power. God first “formed” Adam, and Ezekiel’s first prophecy brought the bones and bodies together, then God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Ezekiel’s second prophecy was directed “unto the wind,” not unto the bones, for he was told to “say to the wind,” “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” Ezekiel’s second prophecy, which brings the dead bodies to life as a mighty army, was directed, not at the dead bodies, but at the wind. It was a command to the wind to breathe upon the bodies. The first time the word “breath” is mentioned in God’s word is the creation of Adam, and it is there defined as the breath of life, and what brings life into the dead bodies, comes from the four winds.
“Angels are holding the four winds, represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path.
“Shall we sleep on the very verge of the eternal world? Shall we be dull and cold and dead? Oh, that we might have in our churches the Spirit and breath of God breathed into His people, that they might stand upon their feet and live.” Manuscript Releases, volume 20, 217.
The two questions here are shall we sleep, and shall we be dead?…two terms for the same prophetic condition. The message of the four winds that are being restrained by angels, is the message that causes the breath of God to enter the dead and causes them to stand up and live. The message of the four winds is the message of the angry horse of Islam. The message of the four winds in the book of Revelation, is the sealing message. The sealing message of Revelation seven, verse one through three, is the message that identifies that the four winds are restrained, until the servants of God are sealed.
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Revelation 7:1–3.
Ezekiel’s second prophecy was directed to the wind, and the life that the wind delivered unto the bodies came from the message of the four winds. In verses eight through ten, in Ezekiel thirty-seven the words that appear either as “wind” or “breath” is the same Hebrew word in each occurrence. God breathed into Adam, the breath of life, and in Ezekiel the breath of life is the message of the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand that comes from the four winds. That message delivers God’s creative power to the bodies that have been brought together in the valley of death, by the first message. The message of the four winds is the message of Islam bringing judgment upon the United States for the Sunday law. It is the message of the Midnight Cry.
The hidden history of the seven thunders begins with a disappointment, which begins the tarrying time. In Revelation eleven when the two prophets were slain on July 18, 2020, the tarrying time began. Ezekiel was among the dead when the Lord asked Ezekiel if the two witnesses that are dead in the street could live.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Ezekiel 37:1–3.
In verse seven, when Ezekiel delivers the first of the two prophecies the message was simply, “O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” John, in the Revelation records, “blessed are those who hear the words of the prophecy of this book.” Ezekiel represents the dead dry bones who are blessed, as those who hear Ezekiel’s command to hear the word of the Lord, and His Word is Truth. In chapter two of Ezekiel, the experience of those who hear God’s word is described.
And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. Ezekiel 2:1, 2.
In Revelation eleven, when the dead bodies hear the word of the Lord, the Comforter enters into them and they stand on their feet. It is the Comforter that sets them on their feet.
And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. Revelation 11:11.
The standing up of the dead is step number one, in a two-step process that raises them out of their graves to become the ensign that is lifted up at the judgment of the Sunday law. When they stand in chapter eleven, “great fear” comes upon those that see them.
And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. Isaiah 31:9.
The Midnight Cry message of Millerite history was the second part of the second angel’s message. The second angel’s message produced a separation of the Millerites from the churches that were then identified as the daughters of Babylon, and the faithful were called out to come and stand with the Millerites. A ‘body’ of believers was formed by that message, and then the second step was the message of the Midnight Cry that joined and added power to the second message. The Millerites then became a mighty army that took the message like a tidal wave across the land. That two-step process is the two voices of Revelation eighteen, and it is the identical process of the resurrection of the dead dry bones in Ezekiel who were slain in the street of Revelation eleven.
“Angels were sent to aid the mighty angel from heaven, and I heard voices which seemed to sound everywhere, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. This message seemed to be an addition to the third message, and joined it, as the midnight cry joined the second angel’s message in 1844.” Spiritual Gifts, volume 1, 195, 196.
The first waymark in the hidden history of the seven thunders, is the disappointment which begins the tarrying time. The tarrying time is a period of time that is represented as three and a half days, which is a symbol of the wilderness. At the end of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Joshua led a mighty army into the Promised Land. At the end of the three and a half days, Ezekiel is taken to the valley of death, and is told to command the dead bodies to “hear the word of the Lord.” Ezekiel is a “voice” crying in the wilderness. The command to hear the word of the Lord brings the body parts together, but they are not yet alive, they are not yet an army, they are not yet sealed. The “word of the Lord” which is spoken by Ezekiel in chapter two, identifies that when the Comforter arrives, God’s people stand, while they simultaneously hear the word of the Lord. Christ promised He would send the Comforter, three and a half days after they were murdered in the street.
Once standing, the bodies ‘who are not yet alive,’ are going to be given a second prophecy. The “voice that crieth in the wilderness” in Isaiah, asks what the prophecy is that he is to cry? The “message” that both Ezekiel, and the “voice” in Isaiah forty are commanded to present, is the message of Islam. When that prophecy is delivered, “Adam” comes to life as a mighty army. The living two witnesses then proclaim the message of Islam’s judgment upon the United States, because of the passage of the soon-coming Sunday law. The judgment of the Sunday law is the third waymark of the hidden history of the seven thunders. When it is fulfilled, the army is lifted up as an ensign to heaven, and is represented in Revelation fourteen.
“I have had an experience in the first, second, and third angels’ messages. The angels are represented as flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming to the world a message of warning, and having a direct bearing upon the people living in the last days of this earth’s history. No one hears the voice of these angels, for they are a symbol to represent the people of God who are working in harmony with the universe of heaven. Men and women, enlightened by the Spirit of God and sanctified through the truth, proclaim the three messages in their order.” Selected Messages, book 2, 387.
The ensign that is lifted up is the third angel that is flying in the midst of heaven, warning mankind against accepting the mark of the beast. The mighty army continues to present that message to the world, until Michael stands up and human probation closes.
We will continue these thoughts in the next article.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Matthew 25:6.
Amen! Let us now spiritually stand upon our feet by accepting the pioneer understanding of Islam, and then prepare to give the final message of the four winds of Islam!
Can someone help me understand the resurrection of the 144,000? I don’t understand as the 144,000 are said to never see death. Similarly I need help understanding how Elijah is resurrected (this was from the Elijah series but I’m thinking the answer may be the same for both), because he never saw death either. Thanking you in advance and Happy Sabbath!
Elizabeth from Maryland
It is not a literal death. It is a prophetic death that is a primary symbol of Daniel and the Revelation. For instance, the standard and correct understanding of the two witnesses in Revelation eleven are that they are Moses and Elijah. They are identified as two prophets, and the prophetic power that is assigned to them in the chapter identifies them as Elijah and Moses. Yet those two prophets are slain by the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit. Yet Elijah never saw death. It is not a literal death. The one hundred and forty-four thousand will certainly follow the gospel of Paul. Paul said he died daily. It is not a literal death. John and Daniel both provide illustrations of a symbolic death. Daniel was thrown into a pit of hungry lions and John into a pot of boiling oil. Yet they both lived. Jonah was thrown into the sea and eaten by a fish, yet he lived. We are told that our greatest need is for a revival, and in the same passage where this truth is identified we are informed that revival represents a renewal of life. If we need a revival it is because we are dead. One of the primary reasons that the majority of disciples left Jesus forever in Galilee is their unwillingness to accept his words in their spiritual context. They reasoned that eat his flesh and drink his blood would make them cannibals. It is a choice that we make when we struggle with prophetic truths such as these you are asking about. We must choose to approach the prophetic word with the understanding that sees that the death of Elijah and the one hundred and forty-four thousand is a symbolic spiritual death. If we will not see this we are in trouble. Sister White repeatedly identifies Ezekiel’s valley of dead dry bones as God’s people. Are we to believe that Ezekiel’s prophecy of the mighty army is an army that was raised up out of a graveyard of dead dry bones? Hope this helps.
Thank you, Elder Jeff. Very helpful and I understand now! God bless.